Dogsong Projects

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For students who love to draw:

  1. Sketch in great detail a character from Dogsong. The portrait should be sketched on an 11x17 piece of paper. It should be a portrait from the chest up, similar in style to this or this. It should capture the character's personality and mood from a part of the story.


For students who love to write:

  1. Write an epilogue for Dogsong. The story leaves several things unanswered, such as the fate of Russel and Nancy, the fate of Oogruk's spirit, whether Russel find true happiness, etc. An epilogue is often shorter than a chapter. Minimum 600 words, maximum 2000.
  2. Write a book report on Dogsong. A book report is a summary of a story's characters, conflict and plot, and includes a reaction or opinion of the book. Minimum 400 words, maximum 1200 words.


For students who love to talk (2 group members allowed):

  1. Develop and record a radio interview in between an interviewer and Russel. The topic of the interview should be: Changes in Russel Sussket's Life. The recorded interview should last approximately five minutes. The interview should include some opening music and title speech, as well as closing music.


For students who love to build (2 group members allowed):

  1. Build a model of Oogruk/Russel's dogsled. The model should be no larger than 1 foot long. The different parts should be labeled. The sled model should include all the parts mentioned in the story, as well as the items that Russel carried on the sled. It might help to make a diagram first.


For students who love to act (2 group members allowed):

  1. Perform a scene from Dogsong that includes interaction between two characters. Students should memorize lines from the book, and prepare any related props that will be needed. Costumes are not required but are allowed. You may choose to add in some lines using your own creative discretion, however all lines from the scene must be included. You may wish to create a background to go with your scene. Maximum scene time is 5 minutes. Discuss which scene you wish to act out from the book with Mr. Ripkens prior to starting.